Featured Staff Pick: Erebos

“When 16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his classmates, who have been secretive lately. Players of the game must obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname.” (Annick Press)

As soon as I stumbled across this review on the Erebos blog tour , I knew I had to take a closer look. The Fight Club for video games framing was very appealing, and after a few chapters, I was hooked. Ursula Pozanski crafts the chapters so that the further Nick falls into the world of Erebos, the more he thinks of himself as his character. When in Erebos, the action is immediate, written in present tense to mimic the environment of online gameplay. Outside of the game, Nick is frustrated by the monotony and time lag of reality. Yet the more Nick plays, the more he is disturbed the knowledge the game has about him: the band he likes, the girl he admires, and what he does outside of the game. When Erebos sends Nick on a potentially deadly mission in the real world, he refuses and is ejected from the game, only to realize that the game has an agenda bigger than Nick realized.

This book has a fairly steady build-up, and after Nick’s ejection, the pacing is faster. At over 400 pages, I expected this book to drag out, but it was easy to finish in just a few days. One of the most intriguing aspects of the book was the transition of present tense during gameplay to past tense for reality. It lent an immediacy to the in-game portions that draws the reader in and is easily relatable to readers familiar with gaming.

Originally from Germany, Erebos has been adapted into over 20 languages and is the winner2011 German Children’s Literature Award. Take a look at a sample chapter here or check out the book trailer below for more.

If you'd like to check this book out, please see the display on the 2nd floor.

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